The invention more specifically relates to a multifunction integrated regulator station comprising a single external housing designed so as to withstand an operating gas pressure and providing accommodation for at least a filter, a pressure regulator and a safety valve, said single external housing having an essentially cylindrical lateral wall, first and second bulkheads mounted on the frontal portions of the single external housing, a transversal separating and supporting wall lying substantially parallel to the first and second bulkheads and disposed inside the single housing to define first and second chambers, the single external housing being fitted with an entrance flange joined to an input valve and defining an input orifice which gives onto said first chamber, and an output flange joined to an output valve and defining an output orifice formed inside said second chamber.
A classical gas regulating metering station is connected to a principal gas distribution mains 1 to supply a secondary mains 7, which can be formed e.g. by a simple supply pipe to a gas appliance, is shown in FIG. 2. Such a regulating station essentially comprises an input valve 2, a filter 3, a safety valve 4, a pressure regulator 8 that generally shares a common housing with the safety valve 4, interconnection piping 9, a gas flow meter 5, and an output valve 6.
Each of these elements must conform to the mechanical requirements imposed by the operating pressure as well as the dimensional requirements determined by the station's throughput.
These elements are generally connected in series according to a fixed order and the proper functioning of some of them, like the meter 5, calls for interconnecting piping 9 that is sufficiently long to prevent all possible interaction between the various elements.
Taking all these factors into account results in regulator stations that are considerably bulky when constructed from known techniques.
It has been proposed in patent GB-A-2 024 650 to produce a regulating station comprising regulators, filters and a safety valve all axially aligned and contained within a single gas-tight enclosure. This configuration of axially aligned cascaded elements tends to result in a relatively tall enclosure. Moreover, the regulating station described in document GB-A-2 024 650 contains no metering or flow rate measuring means. The addition of a meter would there again imply the use of substantially long interconnecting piping. Indeed, the strong turbulence that occurs requires that the gas flow rate measuring device be located at a distance from the regulator corresponding to several times the diameter of the piping joining the two elements. This leads to considerable overall dimensions. Moreover, the piping connecting a pressure regulator to a meter such as a turbine meter generally introduces turbulences in addition to those produced by the regulator, owing to the specific profile of the connecting pipes and possible accessories mounted on them. The flowmeter can thus receive a gas flux whose speed profile is deformed or submitted to rotations in the gaseous flow, adversely affecting the metering accuracy.
It has also been proposed, notably in patent number FR-A-2 341 131 to produce an integrated regulating-metering unit that can both regulate a pressure and meter the flow through the unit. The integration of such a unit into a regulating station, while being considerably advantageous, nevertheless requires producing for each range of operating pressures, a unit whose body is adapted to that range of pressures. Besides, the juxtaposition of a filter, an integrated regulator-meter and a safety device within a regulating station necessarily involves implementing a succession of bulky elements each of which must be specifically dimensioned and adapted to the operating pressure.
Most of the known gas regulating stations also require the complete removal of the gas pipe line between the station's input and output valves. Uncoupling operations must therefore be carried on the various constituting elements, making assembling and dismantling operations long and awkward.